Mathilda : If somebody didn't do it one day or another, I would've probably done it myself.

Leon : Your mother, she...

Mathilda : She's not my mother. And my sister, she wanted to lose some weight, anyway. But she never looked better. Not even my real sister. Just a half-sister, and not a good haIf at that. If you couldn't stand them, why are you crying? Because they killed my brother...What the hell did he do?He was four years old. He never used to cry. Just used to sit next to me and cuddle...I was more of a mother to him than that goddamn pig ever was!

Leon : Hey, don't talk like that about pigs! They're usually much nicer than people.

Mathilda : How much would it cost to hire someone to get those dirtbags who killed my brother?

Leon : Five grand a head.

...................................................................

Leon : How old are you?

Mathilda : Eighteen.

Leon : Eighteen?

Mathilda : Wanna see my license?

Leon : No. You just look a little..younger.

..................................................................

Mathilda : Léon, I want you to teach me how to be like you. I wanna be strong like you, smart like you.

Leon: Mathilda.

Mathilda : I know I'm not strong enough yet, but I could learn the basics, the theory. What do you think? Just the theory.

..................................................................

Leon: The rifle is the first weapon you learn how to use, because it lets you keep your distance from the client. The closer you get to being a pro, the closer you can get to the client. The knife, for example, is the last thing you learn.

Leon : Tony. I thought about my money. You remember the girl who came here the other day?

Tony : Yeah.

Leon : Her name is... Mathilda. If anything happens to me, I... I'd like you to give her...my money.

Tony : You can count on me, Léon.

Leon : Thank you, Tony.

Tony : Yeah.

...................................................................

Leon : I won't be long.

Mathilda : Did I do something wrong?

Leon : No, this one is too big.

Mathilda : Yeah, and I only get the leftovers, is that it?

Leon : Mathilda, since I met you, everything's been different. So, I just need some time alone. And you need some time to grow up a little.

Mathilda : I've finished growing up, Léon. I just get oIder.

Leon: And for me, it's the opposite. I'm old enough. I need time to grow up.

..................................................................

Mathilda: You love someone else?

Leon : No. I mean...there was someone a long time ago. Before I came to the States. Her father didn't want her to see me. She was from a very respectable family. Mine was, you know, not so respectable.

Her dad went nuts everytime she'd take off to see me.

Mathilda : But she still snuck off to see you, right?

Leon : Right.

Mathilda : You see, nothing can stop love, Léon.

Leon : He killed her. One shot to the head. They kept him in jail for two days, then they let him go free. They said it was an accident. So, one night I waited for him. 500 feet with a lens. He also had an accident. The same night I took a boat and came here to meet up with my father who was working for Tony. I was nineteen. Since then I've never left the city. And...I've never had another girlfriend. You see, Mathilda. I won't be a good lover.

Norman : I have a lot of respect for your business, Tony. When you've killed for us in the past, we've always been satisfied. And that's exactly why today is going to be very, very hard for me. I hope you'll excuse my mood. My man was killed right here on your turf and the Chinks tell me that the hitman was kind of the...Italian type. So we figured that Tony might know something. Wait, there's more. You're gonna love this. A few hours later, a little twelve year old girl comes into my office, armed to the teeth with the firm intention of sending me straight to the morgue. And you know who came and got her in the middle of the afternoon, right there, in my building? The very same Italian hitman. I'm dying to meet him.

Leon: Listen to me... Listen to me, we have no chance together, but if I'm alone I can do it, trust me.

I'm in good shape, Mathilda. And I know I've got a lot of money with Tony, a lot. We'll take it and leave together, just the two of us, OK? Go.

Mathilda : No! You just say that so I won't worry. I don't wanna lose you, Léon.

Leon: You're not going to lose me, Mathilda. You've given me a taste for life. I want to be happy, sleep in a bed, have roots. You'll never be alone again, Mathilda. Please, go now, baby, go! Calm down, go now. Go, go. I'lI see you at Tony's. I'm gonna clean them all. Tony's in an hour.

Leon : I love you, Mathilda.

Mathilda: I love you too, Léon.

...............................................................

(After the siege)

Norman : What, what, what! You're two hundred men and you can't find one man and a girl? Did you find the girl?

................................................................

Leon : Stansfield? (after being shot at the back of the head by Norman.)

Norman : At your service.

Leon : This is... from...Mathilda.

Norman : Shit. (while looking at the ring of the hand grenade on his palm handed to him by the dying Leon, followed by a massive explosion.)

................................................................

Tony : What the hell can you do?

Mathilda : I can clean.

Tony: I ain't got no work for a twelve year old kid. So get it outta your goddamn head! It's over, the game's over, Léon's dead! You hear me? (saying to an anguished Mathilda.) Come on. Come on, you think I ain't hurting, too? But he's dead. And you're gonna forget all this craziness and get your little ass back to school, capiche? Now take this money and get the hell outta here, and don't let me see your face 'till next month.'Cause something tells me I'm about to lose my famous kind streak.

..................................................................

(At the Spencer School juvenile delinquent institution.)

Mathilda : My parents died in a car accident four weeks ago. It was terrible.

Headmistress McAllister : You know, we didn't have the time to get to know one another when you first came here, but I want you to know that I am not the kind of woman who'd let down a child, whatever her situation, whatever her mistake. So, I'm going to help you and do my best to welcome you here again. But on one condition. You have to stop lying to me, Mathilda. I want you to take a chance and trust me. Now tell me what happened to you.

Mathilda : OK. My family got shot down by DEA officers because of a drug problem. I left with the greatest guy on earth. He was a hitman, the best in town. But he died this morning and if you don't help me, I'll be dead by tonight.

Mathilda : I think we'll be OK here, Léon. (while planting the houseplant on the school ground for it to take roots).

.....................................................................

Released last year, could not afford to miss the opportunity to own this iconic figure from the 1994 classic movie by Luc Besson, starring Jean Reno as the titular assassin, Leon, whom leads a simple life in Little Italy, New York, working as a "cleaner" for local mafiosi, Tony (Danny "Papa Don't Preach" Aiello). In his free time, he engages in calisthenics, nurture a houseplant which he regards as his best pal, and watch classic movies starring Gene Kelly. Leon is illiterate, so Tony keeps all of Leon's money he made but it was highly hinted that Tony is actually using Leon's share of money all the time. Actually there is a character akin to Leon from another, earlier Luc Besson assassin movie, the 1990 La Femme Nikita, if memory serves me well. Also starring Gary Oldman as Norman Stanfield as a sociopath, drug addicted, corrupt DEA officer. The manner and re-action after he takes a "pill" is classic, as if the "high" is so great that he nearly goes in spasm. And of course there's a very young Natalie Portman in her silver screen debut as Mathilda, as a twelve year old delinquent, whose dysfunctional family was slaughtered by Norman and his team of DEA officers after a drug deal gone wrong, and came under a very reluctant Leon's tutelage to become a "cleaner" herself in order to avenge the death of her beloved four year old brother. A rather controversial aspect of the movie is the relationship between Leon and Mathilda, whom confessed her love to him on several times. Leon is a simpleton and naive, believing Mathilda whom told him she was eighteen. Eventually, Leon avenged on behalf of Mathilda without Tony's permission, and even rescued her from the DEA building on his own when she was caught whilst attempting to kill Norman herself. Norman forced and tortured Tony for Leon's where about. Eventually, an entire platoon of SWAT team was called in to take on Leon and Mathilda in the siege which was, in my personal opinion, one of the most thrilling moments for a movie released in 1994.

Leon is shot from behind by Norman while getting very near to escape, but in a supreme effort of will, Leon successfully takes down Norman together with him in the final moment by detonating one of the hand grenades which sets off a chain reaction of massive explosion, thus fulfilling his own hidden, personal agenda to avenge on behalf of Mathilda, whom survives the entire ordeal. Mathilda wants to be "cleaner" for Tony, but he angrily turns her away, promises to give her monthly allowances as promised to the late Leon, but suspected to be not as much. With no choice, she goes to the local school for juvenile delinquents which she left prior to the start of the movie and starts a new life and hope there. She plants the houseplant Leon carries with him all the time on the school ground, a metaphor that Leon in his death, is finally truly free.I am genuinely surprise when Enterbay announced the release of Leon. But, like all Enterbay figures, I waited for the real figure to be revealed before dishing my hard earned cash for it. My personal opinion, but Enterbay, who gained immense popularity from their line up of Bruce Lees by Arnie Kim, as well as coming up with the then "innovative" movable eyeballs system for a 1/6th figure, has recently taken a dive in terms of final release products vs. the fluffed up prototype pics. Being a late comer in the 1/6th scene, I don't own any Enterbay's early Bruce Lee figures and I am not sure what's the hype about (and the eBay price is insane at one point). Maybe nobody was doing it at that time, and it was limited release (always an enticing factor for kiasu hobbyist and excellent "investment" to shrewd, business minded "collectors", heh) . I only have The Storm Warriors series, and except for Godless (one of the best head sculpt I seen), the rest, well, just could not justify the price point. I mean, for example, there are mold lines on those hands. Reckoned they spent more costs on the nice packaging than the quality of the figures, heh. I skipped Ip Man coz that's definitely not Donnie Yen however you tell me so. Then there is the disaster known as Bruce Lee : Games of Death (Behind the Scene) set. I POed it coz again, enticed by the delicious looking prototype pictures. The actual release is a Ken doll with lollipop head. Luckily, Sam of xl-shop was kind enough to allow me to sell off the PO. Rumour has it that Bill, the owner (?) of Enterbay engaged into a heated, some said rude retort against the avalanche of critics made on the figure in a Chinese toy forum. Now, Leon is average overall, the head sculpt can still be improved but still captures the overall "essence" of Jean Reno, except that his eyes seem to be tilted to one side only (again different from the prototype). The neck is a tad too long as in most cases of Enterbay body with very little articulation and with small shoulders. So, without the trench coat (which btw is missing a snap on, maybe a QC concern? I dunno), the head again is kind of big. The leg joints are weak and the figure need to be carefully handled to avoid falling off. The shoes are molded. Otherwise, it comes complete with all the accessories as seen in the movie, even the milk cartons (why not add on the pig oven glove as well?). A check on Sideshow Forum reveals the missing details from the movie - the colouration of the shoe shine box containing the guns, which by the way, looks awful, cheap and plastic compare to others in the mass market, the missing old, torn labels, the id on the top of the box and finally, the iconic cap which is way too big and doesn't fit. The box also tends to be difficult to open and close properly. Inside, contain the drawers, which again looks like cheap plastic and loose. The lock on the leather shoebox is actually mis-align. I actually have "re-assemble" and glue most of the parts together as well as "weather" it lightly a bit. The milk cartons are printed and has to be assembled, a pain in the arse for someone for me, so all those gluing makes it looks distorted in the end. Argh! But that's not the greatest ordeal I went through. Going through the Sideshow Forum thread, I came across a "tutorial" on how to make the hat fit. But alas, with my shaking, fiddly fingers, I actually "destroyed" the hat. Yes, it's gone, and I now have no choice but to hunt for a replacement on the 'Bay. Despite all that, this is still one figure which is a must have, despite all the rants about Enterbay coz nobody was doing it. Ironic isn't it or a fool? That's coz I collect based on my favourite characters. Like the Storm Warriors, I think I can live with it. Now, my only wishes are for other toy companies to consider more leftfield characters instead of those summer blockbusters shite they churned out these days. How about iconic characters from Quentin Tarantino's movies, from Blade Runner, from The Crow, from Sin City to name but a few.

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answers : because of the relationship between memory and the unfolding of time, because some things are remembered with clarity and some things are not, because memory is deceptive, because mundane incidents can often be elevated to fable, because each life makes its myths, because if no one tells the story there would be no story, because a fact is a fact, because time damages the memory and memory burns into time, because of an inscrutable combination of audacity and innocence.